Virgin Australia : 315 Million Loss - How long can they survive?
It is likely some routes will either be cut or moved between VA and TT. Obviously we don't know what routes make what but regional routes are probably most likely to come under pressure. There is also the possibility of using Alliance for more of the marginal regional routes.
Evertonian
VA should go back to DJ. Pretty much what Machtuk said.
They established themselves in a LCC type role, and then got handed a nice wedge of the market after AN's collapse. Delusions of grandeur meant they felt they could step up & compete with QF, but their brand & market was already established. Go back to competing with Jetstar & when the bottom line looks better, perhaps look at re-entering the premium market in conjunction with a cashed up partner.
My 2c. (which is frighteningly close to their share price atm)
They established themselves in a LCC type role, and then got handed a nice wedge of the market after AN's collapse. Delusions of grandeur meant they felt they could step up & compete with QF, but their brand & market was already established. Go back to competing with Jetstar & when the bottom line looks better, perhaps look at re-entering the premium market in conjunction with a cashed up partner.
My 2c. (which is frighteningly close to their share price atm)
I bet the lessors are laughing all the way to the bank. Why not bring the Ejets back in some capacity and have either VARA or Tiger operate them, or even Cobham since they already have the pilots. That makes more sense than wet leasing Alliance's fokkers to do their thin regional routes.
It has just been brought to my attention Paul Scurrah and Merren McArthur knew each other from Queensland Rail during the period 2010 - 2011. Merren may not have been up to the task required !
I don't wish to add to the commentary here about what VA should or shouldn't be doing to return themselves to profitability..... it's not my area of expertise.
I do however, know a lot of good guys and girls who work there and it never a nice thing to go through. Amid all the negativity and bullish!t you must be hearing right now, I hope things settle down and sanity is restored.
I do however, know a lot of good guys and girls who work there and it never a nice thing to go through. Amid all the negativity and bullish!t you must be hearing right now, I hope things settle down and sanity is restored.
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Hah, tell me about it. Telling them to stick their offer up their ass was a fabulous experience. Having interviewed for and been accepted by every major in the country, that lot were by far the worst to deal with during the interview process.
If that's how you rejected a job offer I'd reckon they're pretty happy you didn't accept. Clown.
I'm pretty sure VA is busy worrying about the catastrophic performance of their business, rather than the many candidates who decided to go elsewhere after dealing with the appalling recruitment process.
Well, yes. It was largely tongue-in-cheek... but DL if they ever were interested could certainly do better than the mishmash of airline owners faffing about that have had not far off a decade to sort it out.
Colonel Klink is right on. Couple more points, lot of disparagement in these posts and some who clearly don't fly on VA. (I am VA and QF plat). The VA Business class exceeds QF every time in catering. Flew QF business yesterday Cairns-Sydney; one white, one red wine. That's a choice? No salad. Seeded sourdough or seeded sourdough. Fly VA business often interstate and USA & HK. VA can't be beaten in J. I suspect international will go as well as Tiger, since the results show a decent profit on domestic and 7% revenue growth. Get rid of the stuff that doesn't work, and possibly even ditch the Virgin branding as this costs millions each year too.
I'm not sure that's quite right. Qantas invested heavily in setting up Jetstar to 'pincer' Virgin Blue with an even lower cost product, leaving Qantas itself free to specialise as a full service carrier. JB's move to the current VA model was a response to the fact that VB was caught in the middle, and not winning.
The alternative wouldn't have been to leave VB as it was - it would have been to strip it back to a ULCC model, and JB's view at the time was that there wasn't space in Australia for two, full-size LCCs, and that they stood a better chance of taking corporate marketshare from Qantas.
That's not a defence of JB - I think he lost sight of the need for cost control - but I do think he was right that there wasn't space for multiple LCCs. SQ learnt that with Tiger (and then JB bought it...), and NZ seem to realise this - hence their complete disinterest in entering the domestic market (well, that and having been burnt by Ansett).
The alternative wouldn't have been to leave VB as it was - it would have been to strip it back to a ULCC model, and JB's view at the time was that there wasn't space in Australia for two, full-size LCCs, and that they stood a better chance of taking corporate marketshare from Qantas.
That's not a defence of JB - I think he lost sight of the need for cost control - but I do think he was right that there wasn't space for multiple LCCs. SQ learnt that with Tiger (and then JB bought it...), and NZ seem to realise this - hence their complete disinterest in entering the domestic market (well, that and having been burnt by Ansett).
PLUS ATRs costing leases but taped up against the fence somewhere and to top it off in this "How to Wreck a Business 101" is the fact they're PAYING another operator to fly the routes... even more laughingly, an operator now 20% owned by QF...